January 8, 2012 - Time Flies



Nooooooooooooooo!!! It hasn't been eight days since my last blog, has it?

I've been busy, busy, busy. The new flooring is done, but there are still some baseboards and molding to be cut, painted/stained and installed. I still have four doors to paint, and each one requires at least an entire day to remove, sand, prime and paint two or three coats of enamel. They were dark walnut stained doors that are being painted white. Just two of the six hall doors have been finished and rehung.

It seems as though every time I redo something, it requires something else to be done. In this case, we had forgotten the floor under all the vinyl had been overlayed with plywood when the kitchen was redone the last time. That meant the thickness of that underlay, plus the thickness of the laminate flooring, made quite a drop off into the laundry room and bathroom. It's not so noticeable going into the bedrooms and Mr. Granny's man cave, as the carpets conceal the actual height of the drop off. Now the two rooms that have vinyl flooring will eventually (soon) have to have new floor coverings, and they will need to have the floors raised up to match the hall. Sigh.....I really didn't want to do all of that, as those floors are in great shape. In the meantime, I think I'll install some 1/2" quarter round, stained to match the hall floor, just next to the laminate transition strip. It might keep Mr. Granny from tripping over the edge!

The gap between the vinyl and the transition strip is large enough to insert the end of a toothbrush.


I can't seem to get a decent picture of this flooring. I guess it's the sheen that changes the color when the flash hits it. It's the color of the closeup in the first picture, yet it looks yellow, red or silver in the other photos.


I'm getting quite used to living with tools and toolboxes in my living room. I will miss them when they're gone (NOT!)

I really do like the flooring, but if I had it to do over, I'd pick laminate that didn't have knot holes in the pattern. When you're looking at one sample board, it's not so noticeable. When they're in every board on the floor it looks like the pups came in with muddy paws! Really, one of the (repeating) knots looks a lot like a paw print. Another drawback of new flooring is how shabby it makes existing furniture look. Now I won't rest easy until that old bookcase in the kitchen is replaced, and a new solid oak one will put me back about $200. Gotta have it though, it's the only handy spot for my recipe books and my kitchen TV, and narrow enough to not block entry to the hallway.

There's not much gardening going on yet. I've received a few more catalogs, but with all the seeds that were gifted to me by Robin, and Ed being more generous than Santa Clause himself, I've only had place one order so far. I can't let a year go by without buying more sweet pepper seeds from Ohio Heirloom Seeds. I always find someone to share them with, and I'm adding a yellow variety to the two red ones this year. If I find a few moments to spare, I'd like to at least find the grow light and a container and start a pot of lettuce on the windowsill.

34 comments:

  1. I was actually just coming to check in on you :) You do know the date is JANUARY 8th, and not DECEMBER, right? hehe

    The floors look amazing!!!! How fast do the dogs slide? Have you timed them yet? lol

    Hugs n love to you!
    ~Wendy

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wendy, this year (2012) really did fly by fast! I don't even remember planting the garden.

    Actually, you have me laughing so hard the tears are running down my cheeks....glad you caught that "senior moment" so I could correct it, LOLOLOL!!!

    Otto loves the hallway. I think he likes the tippy-tap his nails make on the hard surface. He had the crazies yesterday and ended up skidding on his side when he tried to stop. Annie took a corner too fast and one leg slipped out from under her, so she landed on her hip. She usually just waddles slowly, so I'm not too worried about her getting injured. I'm impressed with how quiet and solid the new floor is.

    ReplyDelete
  3. The floors look beautiful. It is a known fact that one project will always lead you to another ... the "while we are at it we might as well" syndrome!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Kitsap, I'm anxious to finish this project, as the Formica I ordered for the counter tops is in now. I'm still waiting for the sink. I don't know why it takes Kohler three weeks to ship one, but I'm not quite ready for it yet, anyway.

    ReplyDelete
  5. i like the knotholes. it gives the floor character and in my case makes the dirt marks less noticeable.=)

    ReplyDelete
  6. They look nice....and the care of them is so easy. I did my entire house in knotty pine laminate. Once a week, I take a damp mop to the whole place...takes 20 minutes for a 2500 sq ft house. I love it. I wonder why I suffered with hardwood for years. You're gonna love em. But yea....now you need new everything else. Introduce yourself when you show up at the poorhouse. I've been waiting for company after doing my place!
    :D

    ReplyDelete
  7. Kelli, I do think they make the floors look more natural....and I love little puppy paw prints ;-)

    ********
    Sue, right now I'm dealing with sawdust being tracked in every day, so I'm looking forward to the day when the patio and front porch will cease being places to saw boards. Then I'll clean the floor! So far, an evening sweeping has had to suffice, but I really think I'm going to invest in a dust mop. I have a shark steam mop, and I have a feeling it will do a good job on this surface. Haven't yet had time to try it.

    Do you play cards? If so, I'll bring a deck to the poor house with me. It will give us something to do, since we won't be able to afford garden seeds.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Juat an FYI- Santa couldn't find the space in your work zone to leave your seeds at your house, said he couldn't find your tree. You Should be getting them in the mail sometime this week.

    ReplyDelete
  9. well it looks like all your hard work is paying off because that floor looks great!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Ed, I KNEW I should have put up a larger tree!

    I expect your seeds to be ready in a week or so, depending on how fast the new pepper seeds arrive. Mike is usually really fast about mailing them out.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thank you, Mrs. Pickles. I hope it all gets finished before time to plant the garden ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  12. The flooring looks great! I bet Annie and Otto are having fun running around on it. I think it is an unwritten law that home improvement projects always result in more work than anticipated.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thanks, Rachel. I think the "fun" of the new floor is finally wearing off. The first couple of days the dogs about drove me crazy pacing up and down the hallway! The floor job is nearly finished, then onward to the new counters and sink.

    ReplyDelete
  14. The worst thing is once something else looks so good it makes the others look terrible :o( Take your time in replacing ...The floor looks wonderful and I know you will enjoy them...

    ReplyDelete
  15. I have my eyes on some laminate for my beloved old house. The dogs are doing a number on the old, old, Victorian subfloor. Laminate is ahead. After doing a small room myself upstairs, I'm all about it. I cracked up about the dog prints. I can imagine going slightly crazy about it, too. And jobs do multiply.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Awesome looking floor. I can totally understand wanting to be done, though. Wouldn't it be nice if you could just twitch your nose and it would all be done?? Hmm, now that I think of it, I could use that for getting rid of the weeds in my garden, too. -Twitching my nose now- Drat. Didn't work. I think I'll try the flame thrower instead.
    ~~Lori

    ReplyDelete
  17. Ginny, I see varnishing cupboards, painting all the woodwork, redoing the vinyl floors....all kinds of jobs in the future! I can only work on the house through February though, then it will be time to tend to gardening.

    ********
    Stefaneener, the problem with these old houses, at least mine, is that nothing is straight in them any more. I'm finding i even have to shim some of the baseboards. All new moldings have to be purchased, as lumber sizes have also changed. The baseboard and door moldings are much thinner now than they were even 20 years ago.

    ********
    Lori, nose twitching would be preferable to flame throwing, but it never does seem to get the job done. I kind of thought grandchildren would be a good source, but they don't seem to work too well either!

    ReplyDelete
  18. The floor looks really nice! Places like lumber liquidators carry transition thresholds that slope to make tripping less likely. We have a 1/2 height difference on our addition thanks to the contractor not paying attention, but with the proper threshold it is barely noticeable. Might save you from re-doing those still in good shape floors!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Here is a link:

    http://www.lumberliquidators.com/catalog/endeca_search.cmd?keyword=cat_512&PIPELINE_SESSION_ID=c291ce200ad48874007af3e09ffdc6da

    ReplyDelete
  20. Kelly, that's worth looking into. These transition pieces (laminate to vinyl) are bull-nosed, not sloping like the laminate to carpet strips. In the meantime, John did install quarter round, which makes it less likely someone will trip on that abrupt edge.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Looks beautiful, and I can imagine you are a bit busy with all that going on. BLogging might not be quite so high on the priority list, huh? ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  22. Barbie, I've taken to having my morning coffee and my lunch at the computer. That's about the only spare time I can find these days. We are finished with the floor now, but oh....so much painting to do!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Seems like we all have been spacing our posts out this winter LOL! The flooring looks wonderful!!!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Erin, thanks. I get to clean it for the first time tonight...or maybe tomorrow. I'm tired enough to take off a day or two, and I'm coming sown with another cold. One thing about winters in AZ, I was never exposed to illnesses. Here I have kids and grandkids around, so I'm constantly exposed to someone with the sniffles.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Sure is looking great. It is wonderful to be able to sit back and reflect on a project done that you are really happy with. Good to see you posting.

    ReplyDelete
  26. So pretty. I'd complain about you not posting, but since I've gotten behind in reading my blogs I'm not allowed.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Wilderness, thanks. One chore leads to another, I fear I'll never be finished ;-)

    ********
    Daphne, definitely not allowed. And just hush about my not posting on Harvest Mondays. I really must start a pot of windowsill lettuce so I can join in again. It was only 17F when I got up this morning, so I don't even want to walk out to the shed for the pot, potting mix and grow light!

    ReplyDelete
  28. I didn't even read your post. I'm too excited! You'll never guess what I got from you! I got pepper seeds. A certain someone passed them along to me with about 1,000 other varieties. I can't wait to start planting! O.K. I'm going back now to read your post.

    ReplyDelete
  29. LOL, Jody, I'll bet the someone's initials are RC....right? I hope you love those peppers as much as I do. I just ordered another whole batch of them!

    ReplyDelete
  30. The floor looks great!, Funny how one project spawns 4 more....

    ReplyDelete
  31. Thanks, David....yep, the new kitchen sink and Formica are now here and awaiting installation.

    ReplyDelete